Nigerian railway loses N1.45bn in three months from passenger traffic

Passenger revenue from the Nigerian Railway Corporation dropped by N1.48bn in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.

The amount representing a decline of 71 per cent when compared with the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 is contained in a new report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), titled ‘Rail Transportation Data Q2 2022’.

According to the report, 422,393 passengers travelled via the rail system in Q2 2022 as against 953,099 passengers recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

The decrease in the number of passengers also had a strong effect on the revenue generation of the corporation.

The total revenue generated from passengers in Q2 2022 was put at N598,736,300, while for the Q1 2022, the revenue was N2,077, 836,686.

While there was a decrease in revenue from passengers, the report indicated that there was an increase in the revenue generated from goods and cargo.

The revenue generated from goods/cargos in Q2 2022 was N86,007,680, while revenue generated from goods/cargos in Q1 2022 was N71,769,967.

The NRC in March suspended  its Abuja-Kaduna train operations after terrorists attacked its passengers.

The attack occurred around the Kateri-Rijana area of Kaduna.

To provide adequate security and restore confidence of the passengers, in August 2022, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N718.19m to two security outfits to protect the 45-kilometre Abuja rail track and stations.

The Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello, said the private security outfits would guard key infrastructure on the rail track, the signalling and communication equipment and the electrical system.